smith college dorm tour

Knowledge. Generosity. Community.

Your Campus

Whether you work here, study here, or live here (or any combination of the three!), Smith’s campus and its resources play a significant role in your life. From dining menus to housing accommodations, from clubs and organizations to community-building initiatives, there’s something for everyone who helps make Smith, Smith.

Are You a New Student ? Find resources and information specifically tailored for you.

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Living on campus? Find out all you need to know about staying happy and healthy at Smith.

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Community-Minded

Students, staff, and faculty come to Smith from all over—with them, they bring a vast array of life experiences, spiritual and religious beliefs, and cultural ideologies. With such a diverse population, there are countless opportunities to expand our community and learn from one another. The Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life help foster this sense of community on campus, encouraging each and every member to flourish and celebrate their individual identities.

Moving the World Forward

It takes a community to enact change in the world, and Smith’s campus community is no exception. Students, faculty and staff members together are at the forefront of important environmental, sociological, and intellectual advancements on our campus and elsewhere. See what we’ve been up to.

Desegregating the Art World

Curator Thelma Golden ’87 has had a major impact on the art world, The New Yorker reports.

• Alumnae News
• February 6, 2024

Jess Gersony Intersects Art and Social Justice with Plant Physiology

How one professor is teaching STEM in a whole different way.

• January 22, 2024

After the Fall

Afghan alums continue to show resilience in the face of Taliban rule.

• December 5, 2023

First Tuesdays

Next Event: Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Calling all campus community members! Sponsored by the Office of the President, join your colleagues and peers in the Julia McWilliams Child ’34 Campus Center on the first Tuesday of every month from 8:30–9:30 a.m. for coffee, donuts, and a chance to catch up on happenings around the campus. Bring a friend from your own department or house, or meet a new one.

From Staff Council

Staff Council, founded in 1992, provides a comprehensive communication channel between administration and staff members. Implemented to ensure staff members’ voices are heard across campus, Staff Council also organizes fun events such as cookie competitions, staff trips, and more.

Give Back, Plate by Plate

Planning an event on campus and think you’ll have extra food left over? Want to get involved in donating daily dining hall leftovers? Contact the Smith Food Rescue Network to see about helping members of the Northampton community who may be in need. Donations—totaling more than 22,000 pounds since the program’s inception in 2022—most often go to Manna Kitchen , but the Rescue Network may have other local locations in mind for your food.

Your Campus, Literally

Spanning 147 acres, Smith’s campus is renowned for for its landscapes and views during any season. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted—the man who planned Central Park—the winding paths take you past student houses, academic buildings, and of course, Paradise Pond.

In nice weather, it’s not uncommon for professors to take their classes outside.

Everyone’s favorite spot on campus, Paradise Pond, looks spectacular in the summer or the fall.

Ford Hall, built in 2009, is home to the Picker Engineering Program and is a LEED Gold certified green building.

Park Annex, one of Smith’s 41 self-governing house communities, was acquired by the college in 1920. Houses at Smith range in capacity from 10 to over 100 students.

College Hall, pictured here in the winter, is where the administrative decisions of the college are made. Out front are the iconic Grécourt Gates, which students traditionally pass through for the first time upon graduating.

Did you know Smith’s entire campus is an arboretum? Lyman Conservatory, pictured here, is a core part of the Botanic Garden of Smith College, and is over 100 years old.

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Check out a typical Freshman Dorm at Smith College

Mally and Mae shows their typical room.

The following is an computer-generated summary of the video transcript.

Hey, you guys mind showing your room for a campus? Okay, So this is Molly and me. Maru Do you guys like how Smith has set up their dorms? Yeah, it is nice to be able to set it up. Me like we don't have that much because it is melded into my bed. Well, this is kind of the normal freshman dorm size.

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Virtual Tour – Overlook Hall

Overlook Hall is Paul Smith’s newest dorm. The LEED Silver-certified building incorporates several environmentally friendly features, including a geothermal heating and cooling system and a parking lot paved with permeable asphalt to minimize runoff.

This upscale, apartment-style building consists of units that each have four single-occupancy bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full kitchen with a stove, microwave and refrigerator.

Virtual Open House Trivia Quiz

• Sustainability

Residence Life & Health Education

Housing tour.

With over 20 houses and a dozen residence halls to choose from, finding the best space for you may seem overwhelming. On this page, we invite you to explore the many great options available at Bates both specific house and room information including floor plans.

Click on a picture below for more info about each neighborhood.

List of Buildings by Neighborhood

There are three types of First Year Centers (FYCs). Incoming students will be asked to rank their preferences on their housing applications.  To explore descriptions of each building and their respective floor plans, click the links below (if asked, use your Bates username and password to log in).

While we are not able to place all students in their first-choice residence, we aim to arrange the best possible roommate match for each student. We ask that incoming students keep an open mind about their assigned living situation and remember that mutual respect and shared responsibility can be important and transformative values for an enjoyable residential experience.

Upperclassmen

Bates has a wide array of living options with both classic residence halls and smaller houses available. Rooms on-campus range from singles to 8-person suites.

Not all students can be placed in their first-choice residence due to space limitations.

Living on campus is an important part of the Bates College experience. Most students live in on-campus housing for all four years. However, Bates does permit a small number of senior students to live off-campus each academic year.

Only rising seniors may apply for and participate in the off-campus lottery. There is a maximum number of students permitted to live off-campus each year.  Students who are selected in the lottery will receive permission to live off-campus and forgo their guarantee of on-campus housing.

More info can be found here .

Future Students

Majors and minors, course schedules, request info, application requirements, faculty directory, student profile.

Smith Travel

Reconnect with Smith through our travel program. Guest faculty or hosts accompany most of our trips. Together with highly skilled tour directors and local guides, they ensure an enlightening travel experience. Share adventures with Smith alums, their families, and friends while enjoying special behind-the-scenes visits that are impossible for individual travelers to arrange on their own. An added bonus is that you can relax while all your trip arrangements are made for you.

Phoebe Lewis ’51

As we relaunch the Smith College Travel Program, let’s take a moment to remember Phoebe Lewis ’51. Phoebe co-directed the Smith College Travel Program from 1979–1983 and 1986–1989. Phoebe also served on the Board of Alumnae Association serving as President from 1983-1986. She became a Member of the Board of Trustees from 1983–1989 and Chair of Trustees from 1989–1994. In 1996, Phoebe was honored with the John M. Greene award for her years of service to the college.

Phoebe died on January 26, 2024.

2025 Destinations

Galápagos Islands

March 14–23, 2025

June 5–13, 2025

November 14–21, 2025

Eligibility & Requirements

Participants.

While Smith Travel programs are designed for alums of Smith College and accompanying members of their immediate families, enrollment is open to all members and friends of the Smith community. Space permitting, a participating alum may bring a non-Smith friend or couple.

Trip size varies. Any exclusive Smith Only land tours are capped at 20-24 passengers. Cruises are shared with other like-minded organizations and institutions and accommodate between 100 and 200 people, depending on the ship. Smith Travel reserves 20-30 spots on each cruise.

Activity Level

All participants must be in good health to enjoy a Smith Travel program. Any condition that may require assistance or special medical attention must be reported at the time a reservation is made. By forwarding the deposit for preregistration or registration in full, participants certify that they do not have any physical or other limitations that would create a hazard for themselves or other travelers.

Passport Requirements

Please note that many countries now require individuals to possess passports with an expiration date of six months beyond the expected return to the United States. Please check that your passport meets the requirements of the country you will be visiting. If your passport needs to be renewed, please leave yourself ample time for processing.

Terms & Conditions

Smith College is the sponsor of the trips and has engaged independent tour operators to arrange the tours. Because Smith College does not own, operate, manage or control, and is not in a partnership or joint venture with either the tour operators or the various independent companies and persons with which or whom the tour operator has arranged to supply services, Smith College and its officers, directors, trustees, agents, servants, employees, affiliations and assigns are not liable for any negligent or willful acts or omissions of the tour operator or the various suppliers, including any acts or omissions on their part that cause, without limitations, injury, death, theft, damage to or loss of property, delay, inconvenience, or the cancellation, substitution, overbooking or downgrading of accommodations, transportation or other services. Additional terms and conditions may apply to your trip and will be sent with your registration acknowledgement, which you must sign and return to Smith Travel.

What’s Included

• A comprehensive educational program, including lectures and discussions with a Smith lecturer or host
• Accommodations based on double occupancy in first-class hotels or ships with private bathroom
• Services of tour directors and experienced local guides
• Bus transfers and baggage handling for participants traveling on group flights
• Port charges on cruises
• Excursions as listed in final itineraries
• Meals as indicated in final itineraries
• Pre-trip information
• Most gratuities

What’s Not Included

• Round-trip airfare (unless specified)
• Passport and visa fees
• Personal travel insurance (we strongly recommend that you take out insurance and will send you details)
• Transfers and baggage handling for those traveling independently
• Gratuities to ship’s crew (unless specified)

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance may be purchased for an additional fee.

Registration

To ensure a reservation on one of our trips or to find out more information, contact Sarah Doody, travel program coordinator, at 904-432-3141, or send an email to [email protected] . Reservations may also be faxed to 866-427-4335. We will contact you and send you the final brochure as soon as it becomes available. You can then send in your trip deposit to confirm your place.

Contact Office of Alumnae Relations

Alumnae House 33 Elm Street Smith College Northampton, MA 01060

Phone: 800-225-2029 Email: [email protected]

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Fun with Friends

• Students can choose from three tiers of residence halls , from traditional shared-space dorm rooms to spacious suites.
• Living on campus means that you’re close to everything – classes, dining, fun and recreation .
• Living-learning communities such as the Emerging Leaders and Osgood Homesteading programs combine coursework with the choices that students make in their daily lives.
• We are a small college that encourages close-knit communities within each residence hall and across campus as a whole.

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We have three tiers available for students on campus. Tier 1 is our traditional-style residence hall. You have a roommate, and you will share a bathroom that is community-style. Tier 2 is you will have up to two other roommates. And you share a bathroom with those roommates or another room that is connected to you as well. And then Tier 3 are our suite-style buildings, and we have three of those. You have your own private bedroom. You also only share a bathroom with one other person. And our Tier 3 suite-style buildings also have a common area and a kitchen built into them.

I like that I'm close to everything. It's walk down the hill, and I'm at my class. Or walk down the hill and had a little bit towards the lake, and I'm at the library. I like that I'm around people that are in the same major, in the same programs, or in the same classes. So when I come home, I'm no more than two doors away from somebody.

Our campus is lucky to boast two living-learning communities currently. Our Emerging Leaders Program is a first-year living-learning community that is open to incoming freshmen. That program transitions students into the ability to be leaders on campus, whether it be a resident assistant, or a peer mentor, or a peer educator. We also have the Osgood sustainability living-learning community. The students living in that building focus a lot on sustainability and outdoor living. Paul Smith's college is definitely a small college, which is one of the reasons that I chose to work here. Because it allows for us to develop close-knit communities within each residence hall, but also across campus as a whole.

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